Dealing With the Issues...
1829 April 23: At this point in time, Pennsylvania's state legislation began to take notice of the public's growing concern about the psychological effects of their solitary prison system. So, the state passed a law specifying "separate or solitary confinement at labor" (Walsh). The inmates housed in solitary confinement were ordered to do manual labor every day, hopefully deterring any psychological problems that would result from the boredom of being alone. This solitary system of prison labor failed, however, because the solitary cells were too small and lacked adequate air and light, which made solitary work impossible.
Subsequently, an Act of 1869 allowed the congregation of prisoners for industrial labor purposes only and, by 1873; the congregate shop system was installed at Western Penitentiary (Corbett). These laws allowed prisoners to have contact with each other while working in groups.
So, the Western Penitentiary approached the labor laws by having groups of inmates working together during the hours that they were not held in strict solitary confinement. Prison administration at the Eastern Penitentiary, on the other hand, was successful at implementing the system of solitary confinement with hard labor while still keeping the prisoners in their individual cells and avoiding contact between inmates. In fact, now Eastern Penitentiary was becoming the national model for the "separate system" where inmates were confined to their cells to work under the supervision of correctional officers. Not only was the public protected from these criminals, but the prisoners were ordered to work together on labor projects in an effort to instill self-discipline and healthy work ethic.
Subsequently, an Act of 1869 allowed the congregation of prisoners for industrial labor purposes only and, by 1873; the congregate shop system was installed at Western Penitentiary (Corbett). These laws allowed prisoners to have contact with each other while working in groups.
So, the Western Penitentiary approached the labor laws by having groups of inmates working together during the hours that they were not held in strict solitary confinement. Prison administration at the Eastern Penitentiary, on the other hand, was successful at implementing the system of solitary confinement with hard labor while still keeping the prisoners in their individual cells and avoiding contact between inmates. In fact, now Eastern Penitentiary was becoming the national model for the "separate system" where inmates were confined to their cells to work under the supervision of correctional officers. Not only was the public protected from these criminals, but the prisoners were ordered to work together on labor projects in an effort to instill self-discipline and healthy work ethic.